------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Terms of access to federal contracts database announced

The U.S. General Services Administration recently announced what it will cost to access the Federal Procurement Data System, now that the database of federal contracts has been upgraded by a private contractor. Despite previous reports that the cost of obtaining a complete set of the raw data would be raised to a prohibitive level, GSA said the price will be set at $2,500--about the same as under the old system. Those who wish to simply search the database will be able to do so for free via the web starting about October 1. The August 25 GSA press release can be found at www.gsa.gov (click on news releases). Information on the Federal Procurement Data System is at http://www.fpdc.gov/fpdc/fpdc_home.htm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Court orders OSHA to release full data on most dangerous workplaces

A federal judge in New York has ordered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to disclose for the first time both the names and the injury rates of the workplaces with the worst safety records. The ruling (in case 03 Civ. 8334 SDNY) was made in response to a suit brought by the New York Times, which had filed a FOIA request for the actual injury rates after OSHA released a list of the 13,000 workplaces that it said had the worst records. That list can be found at http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/foia/archive-foia.html Note that the list does not include workplaces in the 21 states that operate their own workplace safety agencies.

A series of reports in recent months have documented the extraordinary influence that big business has over regulatory agencies in the Bush Administration. The Agribusiness Accountability Initiative released USDA INC.: HOW AGRIBUSINESS HAS HIJACKED REGULATORY POLICY AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Written by Dirt Diggers editor Phil Mattera in collaboration with various family farm and environmental groups, it shows how agribusiness has undermined USDA enforcement of food safety and fair competition laws. The report can be found at:www.agribusinessaccountability.org/page/325/1.

Earlier, the Center for American Progress and OMB Watch released SPECIAL INTEREST TAKEOVER: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE DISMANTLING OF PUBLIC SAFEGUARDS. It covers a "record of rollbacks" in regulations covering mining, media ownership and numerous other areas. It can be found at www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=82002

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Hospital quality data soon to be available on the web

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that nearly all U.S. hospitals have responded to financial incentives contained in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 by agreeing to provide data on their quality of care (see the press release at www.cms.hhs.gov/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1188). The Dept. of Health and Human Services will make the data available to the public beginning early next year at www.medicare.gov, the site that already contains the Nursing Home Compare database.

HighBeam Research, the new incarnation of a service that used to be known as eLibrary, has introduced a database called HighBeam Executives for gathering information on individual businesspeople. Using sources such as websites, SEC filings, newspaper articles and press releases, it creates basic profiles that contain links to the source material. Free registration is required. See www.highbeam.com.

Here is a quick review on obtaining personal financial forms (officially known as Public Financial Disclosure Report, SF 278) for federal officials:

The forms for the President and Members of Congress are, of course, easily available at http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/ and other websites. You can also obtain Form 278s for nominees and unsuccessful candidates for federal office from the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. These forms are available going back six years.

Presidential appointees who are confirmed by the Senate file Form 278s with the Office of Government Ethics. This is a universe of well over 1,000 federal officials, from the Ashcrofts and Rumsfelds to Deputy Undersecretaries and administrative law judges. To obtain these forms, fax a request (use OGE Form 201, available here: www.usoge.gov/pages/forms_pubs_otherdocs/forms_pubs_other_pg3.html#Anchor-OG-13588) to the attention of Denise Shelton, 202-482-9238. Turnaround time is usually a couple of business days.

The Post article explains all of the frustrations on obtaining 278s for judges, and there is no way around the long wait time (even if you request an appointment to inspect forms, rather than requesting a copy). To obtain a judge's 278, use Form AO 010A available here: http://www.uscourts.gov/forms/uscforms.cfm. Fax the form to 202-502-1899, then call 202-502-1850 for the next few months until your request is completed.

"Fooling Investors and Fooling Themselves" is the title of a recently released report by Sanford Lewis and Tim Little on the aggressive accounting and asset management techniques used by companies to hide liabilities relating to poor environmental practices. The report looks at the way the deceptive practices have been employed by companies such as Dow Chemical, Monsanto, Tosco and ConocoPhillips. For more on the report, which was issued by the Rose Foundation, and a link for downloading, see www.rosefdn.org/foolpr.html.

Several related reports have also come out recently. A study by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative documents the growing acceptance by investment banks that environmental and social issues are relevant to the financial condition of corporations. Seehttp://www.unepfi.net/stocks/UNEP_AMWG_Report_LR_230604.pdf.

A report by the GAO (which now stands for Government Accountability Office) addressed the question of whether the SEC is doing enough to enforce corporate disclosure requirements regarding environmental matters. Report GAO-04-808 can be found at www.gao.gov/new.items/d04808.pdf

The latest "Executive Excess" report by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy shows that CEO compensation has increased most dramatically at U.S. corporations that send the most service jobs overseas, suggesting that boards are rewarding top managers for going along with the offshore outsourcing craze. The full report can be found at /www.faireconomy.org/press/2004/EE2004_pr.html.